Tasekko Matsuo

A campaigner for revering the Emperor and expelling foreigners in the late Edo period. Born into the wealthy Takemura family of Yamamoto Village, Ina County, Shinshu (Iida City, Nagano Prefecture), she married Matsuo Sajiemon (Junsai), a headman of Tomono Village (Toyooka Village, Shinshu) who ran a silk-reeling business, and studied the Hirata school of classical Japanese literature and waka poetry in the Ina Valley. In 1862 (Bunkyu 2), at the age of 52, she went to Kyoto alone, where she interacted with such patriots as Kusaka Genzui, Shinagawa Yajiro, and Fujimoto Tesseki, and even gained the trust of Iwakura Tomomi. In the following year, 1863, she became involved in the incident involving the beheading of the wooden statue at Toji-in Temple, and was also suspected by the Shogunate officials of protecting a Tenchu-gumi patriot, leading her to flee to the Choshu Domain residence. She later returned to her hometown to support the patriots, but in 1868 (Meiji 1), she returned to Tokyo again and served the Iwakura family as a "female councillor", before returning to her hometown in 1869 and returning to farming, where she spent the rest of her life. She died on June 10, 1894, at the age of 84.

[Katsuo Inoue]

“Taseko Matsuo” by Hanto Ichimura (1930, Shinano Local Materials Promotion Association)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末尊王攘夷(じょうい)の運動家。信州伊那(いな)郡山本村（長野県飯田(いいだ)市）の豪農竹村家に生まれ、供野(ともの)村（同豊丘(とよおか)村）名主で製糸業を営む松尾佐次右衛門(さじえもん)（淳斎(じゅんさい)）に嫁ぎ、伊那谷で平田派系の国学、歌道を学んだ。1862年（文久2）52歳にして単身、京都に上り、久坂玄瑞(くさかげんずい)、品川弥次郎(やじろう)、藤本鉄石(てっせき)らの志士と交流し、岩倉具視(ともみ)の信任をも得た。翌63年、等持(とうじ)院木像梟首(きょうしゅ)事件に関係し、また天誅(てんちゅう)組の志士を保護して幕吏に疑われ、長州藩邸に逃れた。その後、帰郷して志士を援助したが、68年（明治1）ふたたび上京し、岩倉家の「女参事」とよばれて仕え、69年、帰郷して農事に戻り、余生を送った。明治27年6月10日没、84歳。

［井上勝生］

『市村咸人著『松尾多勢子』（1930・信濃郷土資料普及会）』

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